Melbourne Storm v Cronulla Sharks report

And while Cronulla got back to 10-8, it was Munster and Papenhuyzen who landed the decisive blow before halftime when they caught Sharks fullback Will Kennedy up in the line. The halfback then scored Melbourne’s next, when Stefano Utoikamanu continued his powerful end to the season by bumping off a defender and offloading to his halfback. But he still had his way, getting the ball out wide after the Wilton hit and allowing Nick Meaney to send Will Warbrick over for the Storm’s first.

Hughes tough as nails as Storm stars end Sharks’ campaign to book another grand final

• It started with Harry Grant running the ball from dummy-half, catching cronulla off guard.
• Cronulla have defied their critics all season, and spent large parts of the match doing their best to repel a Storm side who always looked the better team.
• Braydon Trindall gives a penalty away for an illegal steal, and Melbourne opt to take the kick to push it out to an eight-point lead.

The pressure was telling on the visitors and Hughes produced a centimetre-perfect pass to put Katoa into a hole for the game’s opening try. It was a sour note on an otherwise stellar afternoon, with the Storm improving to 10-4 on the season and making it 10 wins in succession at fortress AAMI Park. Katoa had a game to remember, scoring the game’s opening try with two try assists, 139 run metres and 32 tackles.

The Sharks needed to be the next team to score and were presented a try on a platter when Faalogo hesitated under a Hynes bomb and allowed Sharks five-eighth Braydon Trindall to score an easy try to trim the deficit to four at half time. The Sharks wasted their captain’s challenge just nine minutes after a Sione Katoa loose carry. The Sharks were admittedly grittier defensively than they have been in recent times, but they still conceded 30 for a fourth time in five matches, and offered little from an attacking standpoint. With the game finely balanced in the second half, Katoa produced two incredible catches under high balls to set up tries for centre Nick Meaney and halfback Jahrome Hughes. Limited-time offer. FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every game of every round in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership, LIVE with no ad-breaks during play.

NRL Teams: Round 6

He copped a hit from Teig Wilton in the lead up to Melbourne’s first try, and was on the receiving end of a high shot from Braydon Trindall in the second half. Playing with a heavily protected left arm and defending on the wing at different stages, Hughes had his fingerprints all over Melbourne’s win. Cronulla have defied their critics all season, and spent large parts of the match doing their best to repel a Storm side who always looked the better team. And with Cronulla doing their best to hang in there at with five minutes to go, it was Harry Grant who provided the knockout blow for the hosts.

Melbourne allowed Cronulla to enjoy parity for only a few minutes and again it was Stefano Utoikamanu and Jahrome Hughes doing some fine work. The Sharks were considered premiership hopes pre-season, but more than halfway into the season and they sit outside the top eight. Back in Round 11, Cronulla upset the Storm 31-26, but having lost three of their past four games, they’ll need to turn things around sharply if they’re going to defeat the Storm in Melbourne. Mulitalo was big on the lip in that Sharks win and he clearly got the Storm players offside who were up in his face with every Sharks defensive breakdown.

That relief turned to elation when Xavier Coates scored his first finals try in three years to extend the lead out to an unassailable 12 points. It was a third consecutive week where Cronulla conceding the opening try and they showed plenty of resolve to stay in the game on this 1xbet login occasion as well, striking in the 11th minute when the off-contract Will Kennedy dummied Cameron Munster and Jack Howarth before scything the pair and slinging it out wide to Sione Katoa for the first of his two tries prior to half-time. Legendary NRL coach Craig Bellamy has booked himself an 11th Grand Final appearance after his Melbourne Storm held on for a nervy preliminary final win against the Cronulla Sharks. But it was third time unlucky for the Sharks with Faalogo collecting a Nicho Hynes tap-on cleanly and out-sprinting speedy Sharks fullback Will Kennedy over 90 metres to score and give the Storm a 10-0 lead.

And fellow Storm stars Cameron Munster, Harry Grant and Ryan Papenhuyzen all produced their own magical moments to help lift the Storm into yet another grand final. The first time you open Google Translate, you’ll be asked to choose your primary language and the language you translate most often. Cronulla’s defence continued to sustain some of Melbourne’s finest attacking plays and again stood up in the 29th minute of the first half when Munster dummied and busted a tackle, broke through the line only to be dragged down by a diving tackle from Blaike Brailey who grabbed Munster by the shorts. Warbrick was ruled to have made the last touch and so Cronulla had an immediate chance to bounce back but the last tackle dribble kick from Trindall on the counter was cleaned up by Papenhuyzen, who was instrumental at the back as usual. The Storm were exceptionally slick in attack in the opening 20 minutes and looked on for a third try that was denied by outstanding defence from Brayden Trindall and KL Iro to defuse a cross-field bomb that Warbrick and Meaney had combined to set up for a try.